Samardzija bounces back, Giants beat Dodgers 5-4
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mauricio Dúbon went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs, Jeff Samardzija pitched six strong innings, and the San Francisco Giants beat the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.
The Giants ended a stretch in which they lost eight of 10 and 12 of 16 on a night when retiring manager Bruce Bochy was honored by the Dodgers in a pre-game ceremony.
Bochy’s record against Los Angeles improved to 219-204 in stints as manager of the Giants and San Diego Padres.
Clayton Kershaw (13-5) lost his third straight start for the Dodgers, whose four-game winning streak ended.
The Dodgers pulled to 5-4 with two outs in the ninth on A.J. Pollock’s third homer of the game, a towering shot to left field on the first pitch from closer Will Smith. They have 253 homers on the season, already a NL record.
Smith walked pinch-hitter Russell Martin to put the tying run on base.
Smith struck out catcher Will Smith to end the game and earn his second save.
Samardzija (10-11) bounced back from his worst outing of the season. He allowed three runs and five hits while striking out three and walking none.
Samardzija gave up six earned runs over 5 1/3 innings against San Diego last weekend.
Like Samardzija, Kershaw was coming off a disappointing outing.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner exited after four innings in his shortest start of the season. He gave up three runs and seven hits — second-most of the season — struck out six and walked three.
Kershaw was pulled after a leadoff single to Austin Slater and a walk to Kevin Pillar. He spoke briefly to manager Dave Roberts before leaving the mound. Kershaw reached the dugout and, in a rare display of emotion, kicked the cooler under the bench, and then tossed his glove and cap before heading into the clubhouse.
For the second straight game, Kershaw failed to last at least five innings. Last weekend at Arizona, he gave up five earned runs and five hits in five innings.
Dylan Floro came on and got Evan Longoria on a groundout to first before loading the bases on an intentional walk to Buster Posey. Pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run double to deep center field. After another intentional walk to Brandon Belt, Dubón hit a two-run RBI single, extending the Giants’ lead to 5-1.
Dubón homered to tie the game 1-all in the fourth.
Pollock slugged solo shots in the second and fifth innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: RHP Trevor Gott (right elbow strain) was transferred to the 60-day IL. … RHP Johnny Cueto, recovering from Tommy John surgery last year, will throw a bullpen session in LA this weekend to see how his back feels after experiencing tightness.
Dodgers: LHP Rich Hill (left forearm strain) faced hitters, tossing 33 pitches. He’ll make four starts to build himself up before the postseason begins, with his first one expected to be an abbreviated outing next week at Baltimore.
DODGERS ROTATION
LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu will skip a start in the rotation next week at Baltimore to get some rest, Roberts said. Ryu had a major-league leading ERA of 1.45 on Aug. 11. Since then, his ERA has skied to 9.95 and he’s given up five home runs in the four starts since then. Ryu had allowed just 10 in 22 starts before that. The South Korean has pitched 161 2/3 innings this season, his most since 2013 when he first joined the Dodgers.
LHP Julio Urías starts Sunday’s series finale in place of RHP Walker Buehler. Urías will be limited to three innings and about 45 pitches. He’ll make another start after that, too. Buehler is getting a short break in an attempt to help him finish the regular season strong. He’ll start Tuesday at Baltimore.
UP NEXT
Giants: They’ve lost each of the last eight starts dating to July 24 by RHP Tyler Beede (3-9, 5.61 ERA). He’s 0-6 with a 7.05 ERA in those eight outings.
Dodgers: RHP Tony Gonsolin (2-1, 2.89) has held batters to a .200 average in six major league games, including five starts.
